One of the very active U.S. universities in the field of engineering and automation is Oklahoma State University. Their OSU Automation Society was founded several years ago and its purpose is to spread awareness and promote automation and control systems as a...
It's human nature to operate within a comfort zone. For plant operators, where the stakes are incredibly high, it means operating away from constraint limits. Unfortunately, to maximize the performance of the process, it means to get as close to the limits as you can...
A recent ControlGlobal.com article, Advanced Process Control Ain't Easy, concluded: The optimal solution is elusive, but perhaps the most promising path is to start with the simplest APC possible, one that delivers an acceptable percentage of theoretical benefits, but...
Emerson's James Beall presented Master the Mystery and Marvels of DeltaV MPC at the 2012 Emerson Exchange. His abstract: Have you found the perfect application for Model Predictive Control (MPC) but don't know how to get started? Or perhaps you have implemented an MPC...
While the energy markets continue to adjust to the growing supplies of natural gas through increasing shale gas production, project and operational goals around shorter schedules, faster startups, and maximized production rates remain constant. I caught up with...
If you're going to ISA Automation Week September 24-27, 2012 in Orlando, Florida, make sure to say hi to one of ISA's newest Fellows, Emerson's Jeffery Williams. Jeff is being honored for his contributions in the development of embedded advanced control for use on...
For pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers, the process of drug compound experimentation requires robust and reproducible results before the scale up process can begin. Emerson's Chris Amstutz pointed me to a great whitepaper by Broadley James, Automating Industrial...
In the process optimization category of this blog, we've described many examples of advanced process controls and how they help to improve plant performance. One of the leading providers of multivariable APC over the years has been Aspentech and their DMCplus...
I saw a tweet from Control magazine editor-in-chief Walt Boyes, which alerted me to a presentation that I needed to get my hands on. Emerson's Bob Sabin, a member of the industrial energy team, was kind enough to provide me a copy. You may recall Bob from several...
Donations of automation equipment to colleges and universities are an important way to build the skills of the next generation of automation professionals. I've share a few stories in the past (examples here and here). A colleague shared an example of how these...
For U.S. refiners, the bulk of project spending is on core business drivers including safety, environmental performance, and reliability programs. Projects that optimize performance and improve energy efficiency often don't make the cut. At the AIChE National Spring...
I came across an interesting Emerson Exchange presentation, Model Predictive Control for Integrating Processes, by Emerson's Lou Heavner. You may recall Lou from several advanced control-related posts. Lou introduced the subject noting that historically, APC project...
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This blog features expert perspectives from Emerson's automation professionals on industry trends, technologies, and best practices. The information shared here is intended to inform and educate our global community of users and partners.